A landmark 1997 report, titled, Bringing Them Home, estimated that as many as one in three indigenous children were taken and placed in institutions and foster care, where many suffered abuse and neglect.

A government-funded survivors group, the Healing Foundation, said it had a "profoundly destructive" impact on those removed and their families, many of whom had carried lifelong trauma.

'Keep going'

Indigenous Australians, who comprise about 3% of the population, continue to to experience high levels of disadvantage.